Antibuzz fluid pressure regulator



July 25, 1944. T. A. s'r. cLA1R\ 2,354,283

' ANTIBUZZ FLUID PRESSURE REGULATOR Filed Aug. 4, 1941' 17A I9 2l; `2|

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. 3 5 y, "1 9 y v y -4 Y' l N? j Patented July 25, i944 ANTEBUZZ FLUID PRESSURE REGUATR Theodore A. St. Clair, Pontiac, meh., asslgnor to Phillips Petroleum Gompany, a corporation atl Delaware Application August 4, 1941,`Serial No. 405,438

'('GL --Zl) -3Claims.

The present invention' relates to fluid pressure lregulators of the type shown and described in the T. A si. cuir Patent No. 2,271,278, issued. January 27, 1942. The operation of regulators of the type disclosed in the St. Clair patent is substantially the same as that of the pressure regulator describedv and. claimed in the Lewis Patent No. 2,245,485 of June 10, 1941, which are adapted to be used in connection with systems for dispensing.

liquefied petroleum gas such as shown in the R. W.

patent provides an arrangement for automatically shutting oi the ow of gas when the pressure in the tank falls below a certain point thereby pre= venting loss of gas on reversal of now. This aprangement consists of a fluid pressure responsive diaphragm which is spring loaded in such a mana ner that on disconnection :from the storage tenir` the diaphragm will be forced downwardly to engage the valve seat and `close the outlet conduit to the service line. y

Fluid pressure regulators of the above men-e tioned type are provided with means for regulating iiuid flow from the tank to the diaphragm which include 'a conduit connecting the tank to a fluid compartment on the lower side of the diaphragm and av core valve in the conduit remote from the diaphragm for controlling fluid pressure ilow through the conduit to the bottom of the diaphragm. The arrangement also includes a force transmitting element or push pin extending into the conduit from the diaphragm to the' valve which is responsive to diaphragm movement to control the opening of the valve and spaced from the inside of the conduit by guides so as to provide a passage for iiuid Ilow.

A principal dificulty encountered in the operation of pressure regulators as above described is a pronounced buzzing tendency to occur in the connection between the fluid pressure storage tank and the bottom of the diaphragm. -This buzzing is due to vibration of the push pin relati've to the Thomas application Serial No. 281,969, iiled June and the valve core, and has proven to be very objectionable in the operation of such systems.

The apparatus for dispensing liquefied petroleum gases is ordinarily located in the immediate vicin.

ity of the building and, therefore, quietness vof operation is an essential requirement in such systems. Sounds incident to the. operation of the regulator are carried to the interior of the building through' the medium or the installation piping.

The consumption of the gaseous fuel is not constant and sudden changes in pressure in the line and regulator cause a rapid uctuation of the diaphragm. Vibration of the push pin has been round primarily dueto the fact that the bottom of the diaphragm .is directly exposed to pressure pulsations from the tanls and sudden pressure change momentarily creates an unbalanced condition on the forces which control the movement of the push pin, i. e., the loading of the diaphragm and the core valve stem.

An' object of this invention is to provide a means for regulating uid iow from a high pressure uid storage tank to the diaphragm of a pressure regulator which will be quiet and efcient in operation A u'rther object of this invention is the construction oi a pressure regulator in which means l are provided for reducing the magnitude of preseY have discovered that iiuid pressure regulator operation can be materially improved and rendered substantially noiseless if means are provided in the conduit connecting such regulators to the storage tanks to reduce the effect of sudden pressure variation on diaphragm operation. It has been found in accordance with this invention that if a suillcient restriction to iluid ow is provided in the conduit, valve opening will take placeV gradue ally and vibration and relative movement of the force transmitting elementeliminated. The restriction in the conduit between the diaphragm and the core-valve in effect creates a chamber between the restriction and the core valve which absorbs sudden change in pressure and smooths out the iiow of gas to the bottom of the diaphragm.

Referring to the drawing, in which Fig. 1 is' a sectional view of the regulator; and Fig. 2 is a sectional view of a modied form of the push pin device, a uid pressure regulator of the type disclosed in the St. Clair patent is shown. A. portion of a liquefied or high pressure gas container is designated at I provided with an annular ring v2 and having a shoulder 3 which is attached to the high pressure containerat '4. The ring 2 is tapped to receive a plug member 5 which is drilled and tapped to receive a valve 6 of the tire valve core type. The valve 6 is provided with a valve stem I and directly above the valve stem is a force transmitting element or push pin 3 provided with upper and lowerguide nuts 29.

Concentric with the push pin 8 is a tubular conduit 9 provided at its lower end with a nipple I0 ing of the diaphragm on the outlet conduit valve seat.

A direct relationship exists between the restricted area, the chamber between the inlet valve and the restriction, the active area oi the inlet valve, and the density of the iluid, the inlet pressure and the outlet flow. The 'inlet valve should be of suflicient size relative to the restriction to produce the desired dampening eiect and allow which engages a resilient sealing ring I I in a threaded recess in the plug member 5. A fluid tight connection is maintained between the tubular conduit and the tank by means of a clamping nut I2.

A regulator housing comprising a body, I3 and a cover I4 has a vflexible diaphragm I5 which divides thehousing into two compartments, namely, a loading compartment I5 and a iiuid compartment I1 below the bottom of the diaphragm provided with an outlet conduit leading to the service line. The loading compartment I3 is vented at I'IA to the atmosphere and oontains an expansion spring I8 adjustably disposed between the cover I4 and the top of the diaphragm. A diaphragm retaineri! with a threaded connection to the body I3.bears,upon a diaphragm slip ring 2U which in turn clamps diaphragm I5 securely in place. is so shaped as to provide a circumferential groove 2|l for the reception of pins 22 allowing relative rotation between the cover I4 and .regulator body I3. The loading compartmentj is provided with a diaphragmstop 23 for limiting the eilective diaphragm areal which in turn will control the discharge pressure of the regulator. The diaphragm stop 23 is in threaded engagement with the interior of the cover I4 and is provided with lugs 24 which are "free to move vertically in slots 25, formed in the diaphragm retainer I9 but which prevent the diaphragm stop The retainer II.

i'rom rotatingl relative to the regulator body I3.

A bushing 26 is held in the lower slightly en. larged portion of the passage 21 in the regulator housing body I3 by the upper end of conduit 3 which is threaded to the interior of the passage. 'I'lie lower end of the bushing 25 provides a seat i'or a regulator collar 23 which is slidably mounted on the push pin 3. The inside diameter of the collar is slightly greater than the outside diameter of the push pin to provide a ilow way. The regulator collar 23 is moved against the seat provided on the bottom of the bushing 25 in response to `iiuid flow through the conduit and in this position fluid ilow to the bottom of the diaphragm is restricted to the area between the inside diameter of the collar and the outside diameter of the push pin. It is thus apparent that as the regulator collar 28 is held-in contact with the bushing seat 26 by the dynamic force produced by gas ow through the regulator, a constant restriction to iiuid ilow is formed in the flow-way provided between the internal diameter of the collar and the external diameter of the push-pin. When ilow through the conduit has dropped below a predetermined point on disconnection of nipple I0 from the tank, the collar will fall to its lower position and rest on the upper guide riut 28, and in this position will allow free flow of iluid in the opposite directicn in the conduit through the much greater area @provided between sumcient ow. The restricted -area provided onV iiuid ilow to the bottom oi.' the diaphragm between the collar and push pin reduces the magnitude of pressure variation on the diaphragm, thus permitting a gradual closure of -the valve thereby eliminating vibration of the push npin. The flow area ibetween the push pin and the collar is calculated to allow .sufficient ow of iluid to the service line for consumption requirements and at the same time have a throttling effect on fluid flow through the conduit to the diaphragm. Thus in determining the fproperarea of ow at the restriction, the lower limit of ilowarea is established by maximum requirements in the service line, while the upper limit of ilow area will be determined by the amount of throttling necessary to eliminate vibration of the push pin.

A modined form of the invention is shown in Figure 2 in which a relatively longer bushing 30 is located in the upper part of the ilow conduit 3| to be clamped in position between the conduit and regulator housing. 'Thepush pin of modied form is shown at 32 provided with the usual guide nut 33 vand having a section of enlarged diameter 34 and conical bevel portion 35. In response to iiuid pressure on the bottom of .the diaphragm a restriction in the conduit is established by the limited area between the cylindri-A cal section 34 and the inside of the bushing 30. Under the iniiuence of pressure cylindrical sec# tion 34 of the push pin rises into the bushing in' normal regulator operation and drops i'ree 'of the bushing on disconnection of the regulator, fur-- nishing the required -iiow area for proper seating of the check valve. The conical portion 35 is for the purpose oi' providing a guide for the cylindrical section 34 so that as the regulator is being connected, there will be no catching or hanging up between the push pin and the bushing 3l.

While I have shown and described two speciilc arrangements i'or the elimination of buzz in pressure regulators, it is obvious that various other means may be employed within the scope of the present invention.

I claim:

l. A device for the elimination of buzz ina pressure regulator comprising in combination a regulator casing, a pressure actuated diaphragm in said casing forming a compartment between the diaphragm and one side of the casing, a conduit for conducting fluid under relatively highpressure to one side of said diaphragm secured to said one side of said casing, a valve in the conduit remote from and having a stem projecting toward said diaphragm, an elongated force transmitting element mounted for lengthwise movement in said conduit and having its ends separate from and in engagement with said diaphragm and said valve stem, respectively, said force transmitting element being responsive to movement of said diaphragm and so constructed and arranged as to provide a passage for iluid ow through said conduit to said diaphragm, said conduit having a restricted portion, and means on said force transmitting elementl movable into cooperating relationship with said restricted pornon to form a further constant mbsntiai restriction to iiuid ilow through said conduit to sa'id diaphragm to reduce the magnitude of rapid presf sure variations on said diaphragm suiiiciently to prevent vibration of said eier'nerlit in said conduit and consequent buzz caused by such vibration.

2. A device for the elimination of buzz in a pressure regulator comprising 'in combination a regulator casing, a pressure actuated diaphragm in saidcasing forming a compartment between the diaphragm and oneside of the casing. a conduit for conducting iluid under relatively high pressure to one side of said diaphragm secured to said one side of said casing, af valve in the conduit remote from and having a stem projecting toward said diaphragm, an elongated force transmitting element mounted for lengthwise movement in said conduit and having its ends separate from and in engagement with said diaphragm and said valve stem, respectively, said iorce transmitting element being responsive to movement of said diaphragm and so constructed and arranged as to provide a passage for uid iiow through said conduit to said diaphragm, said conduit having a restricted portion; and a ring loose- Lv slidable along said force vtransmitting member into sealing contact with said restricted portion to form a further constant substantial restriction to uid ow throughsaid conduit to said diaphragm to reduce the magnitude of rapid pressure variations on said diaphragm sumciently to prevent vibration of said element in said conduit and consequent buzz caused by such .vibration.

3. A device for the elimination of buzz in a pressure regulator comprising in combination a i, regulator. casing, a pressure actuated diaphragm in said casing forming a compartment between the diaphragm and one side of the casing. a con- -duit for conducting iiuid under relatively hish pressure to one side ot said diaphragm secured to said one side of said casing, a valve in the conduit remote from and having a stem projecting toward said diaphragm, an elongated force relationship with said restricted :portion to form a further constant substantial restriction to uid iiow through said conduit to said diaphragm to reduce the magnitude of rapid pressure variations `on said .diaphragm sufficiently to prevent vibration o! said element in said conduit and consequent buzz caused by such vibration.

THEODORE A. ST. CLAIR. 

